Juliet Gets Engaged
by domina tempore
Summary: Juliet is getting engaged...but it's not to Shawn! J/OC, eventual Shules. AU after "Thrill Seekers and Hell Raisers".
1. Shawn Gets the Shock of His Life

_Note: There was supposed to be another fic that came before this to introduce Jeremy; but my inspiration died after I finished this :p. So when I have that one done, I'll put it up; but for now, please enjoy and don't kill me? O:) I know that this first chapter is kind of a shock, but everything will get better by the end of the story, I promise! :) _

_ps. I do not own pysch, not making any money off of this (though that would be lovely), the general disclaimer. This is all just for fun :) _

**Juliet Gets Engaged**

_by: jewel of athos_

_For fyd818...:) I love you, dear!! *hugs* Thank you for...well, for everything! :) I hope you like...;) _

* * *

**Chapter 1** - _Shawn Gets the Shock of His Life_

Shawn walked into the SBPD, his eyes immediately searching for Juliet. He hadn't been around much since Valentines Day; that awful, crushing day when Juliet and Jeremy Ross had gone on their first date since high school. Even when he'd taken cases, he hadn't seen much of her except at a distance.

He realized that six months was a long time to go without saying more than five words to his friend; but he hadn't been willing to risk seeing her _with him_, and so he'd stayed away. But the plain and simple fact was that he loved her, and he couldn't stand being away from her. So putting his fear aside, he'd decided to suck it up and come and talk to her today. He was sure that he'd go crazy if he didn't.

But as he walked through the halls towards Juliet's desk, he picked up on a very strange atmosphere about the whole place. It was like all of SBPD was waiting on the edge of its seat for something really big to happen. It made him uncomfortable.

He was almost halfway there when Lassie stepped into his path.

"Oh, good, you're just in time," he said, grinning. Shawn shuddered, backing up a step. Happy Lassie _reall_y creeped him out.

"Just in time for what?"

"For the big moment." Shawn looked at him blankly, and the detective laughed at him.

"What, your psychic "powers" didn't tell you to come here today and see it?"

"Lassie, I have no idea what you're talking about. Just tell me what's going on." A disturbingly devious smile spread over Lassiter's lips.

"No, I'm gonna let _you_ figure that one out. Good luck with the visions!" Before Shawn had a chance to say another word to him, he had walked away, shaking his head and laughing to himself.

Shawn felt his body give an involuntary shudder. Something was definitely wrong here.

A moment later, things got even worse when he found Jeremy, not Juliet, sitting at her desk. He paused with a frown, debating whether he should inquire or just leave. His eyes zeroed in absently on a bulge in the man's pocket, a bunch of red roses lying across the desk, and the little beads of sweat scattered across his forehead; but before he had time to figure out what that meant, Jeremy had noticed him.

"Hi, Shawn," he said, smiling and putting on a mask of happy calmness that Shawn didn't believe for a second. "You looking for Juliet?"

"Yes, I am looking for Juliet, this is Juliet's desk; the place that, I've always assumed, would be the place to find _Juliet_." Jeremy looked up at him, rubbing his hands together in what seemed a nervous gesture.

"That's why I came, too; only she's coming in a little late today...Shawn, what do you think about her?" Shawn startles back a step in surprise, thrown off by the question.

"Do you mean what thoughts do I think about her regularly? I'm sorry, Jerry, that information is classified. If I told you, I'd have to kill you." He paused. "Though they _did_ revoke my license to kill...But that's not the point!" Jeremy laughed.

"That's not what I meant. But you've known her better the past few years than I have, and I regret not being around for her then. I just want to make sure _now_ that I know the real Jules." Shawn felt an irrational flash of anger to hear _his_ nickname for Juliet coming out of Jerry's lips, but he forced it down.

"In that case, I think that Juliet is...sweet, and strong, and honest, and smart...and beautiful." He trailed off with a sigh, his eyes unfocusing as he pictured her smiling face. The vision was broken by Jeremy clapping him on the shoulder in a way that was far too friendly for Shawn's taste.

"Thanks, Shawn. You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that."

"I'm sure I don't..." he muttered as Jeremy walked away to talk to someone else. He eyed the bulging pocked again suspiciously, but the lump wasn't the shape of anything dangerous. _Which would be so convenient right about now_, he thought bitterly. But regretfully it was a small, innocent, and vaguely square shape. Kind of like a jewelry box.

"She's coming!" Chief Vick called out suddenly from a window at the other end of the room. "Get ready, everybody!"

"Ready?" Shawn repeated as everyone else scrambled around the office and seemed to be trying to look normal. "Ready for what?" No one bothered to answer him, but someone pulled him out of the middle of the floor where he had been standing like an idiot, and off to the side. He was still trying to figure out what was going on when Juliet walked in.

An uncomfortable feeling clenched in his gut as he watched her walk through the office towards Jeremy, calling out hello's as she went. Even when he'd decided to do this, he hadn't realized how much he'd missed her. He wasn't prepared for the wall of emotion that hit him at the sight of her coming in---or the sight of her kissing Jeremy. He started to turn away...

...And stopped when he saw Jeremy reach into his pocket and take out the object that had been confusing him. His guess had been right on the money; one of those little boxes that necklaces and rings came in.

_Rings_. Suddenly everything that had happened since he'd entered the building made sense; Lassie's comments about "the big moment", Jeremy's nervousness and his odd questions; the colorful envelopes that he'd noticed but ignored on almost every desk in the office. _No._

"...Juliet," he was saying, shifting from foot to foot. "I know that we haven't been together again all that long, and I'm sorry if this seems...sudden. But I've thought very long, and very hard about it, and...Juliet, I love you." He dropped down on one knee and held out the little box, and Shawn felt like Jeremy's entire weight had landed on his chest. "Will you marry me?"

A hushed silence settled over the room as they waited to hear Juliet's reply. Shawn watched her expression shift between shocked and amazed.

_Please say no, please say no, please say no..._ he chanted to himself as Juliet gasped, her mouth working opened and closed soundlessly several times as she searched for words. Her answer came out as barely a whisper.

"Yes," she breathed. "Oh, gosh, yes!" She threw her arms around him, and he kissed her, and cheers erupted throughout the room.

Shawn bolted.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Shawn wasn't able to relax until he'd made it to his dad's house and let himself in. He doubted that his father would be too happy when he found out; but he was out of Apple Jacks, and he knew that his dad had stocked up on them the last time he'd gone shopping. It was the best way that he knew of to drown his sorrows.

Only when he'd set himself up in the kitchen armed with a bowl and spoon to attack the cereal did he allow himself to go over what had just happened. Even then he could barely believe it. Juliet and Jeremy---getting _married_?

"Whoa!" He needed to stop thinking those words. Every time he did, it re-awakened his urge to throw up. He almost lost his appetite for the Apple Jacks.

After a few bites, he realized that he really didn't want to eat them, either way. Disgusted, he left them to get soggy in his bowl on the table, and walked into the living room to call Gus. He was relieved when his friend picked up the phone after the second ring.

"Hey, Gus! Listen, I need you, buddy."

"Can't it wait, Shawn? I'm kinda busy right now." Shawn turned up the volume on the phone, and heard the excited hum of chatter in the background.

"Gus, where are you right now?"

"I'm down at the police station, at a party for Juliet and Jeremy. You know, that was kind of rotten for you to leave like that, without even congratulating them. She _is_ still your friend, you know."

"Yeah, well I had some...important stuff to do; and I knew if I said anything, I'd get dragged into a conversation, and then I'd never be able to finish..."

"You're just jealous because Jeremy did what you're afraid to do." Gus accused.

"What---that's not true! Gus, come on, you know me. Would I really be jealous of the guy if he makes her happy?"

"Yes," Gus said firmly. "You're in love with her; _you_ want to be the one to make her happy."

"Gus..."

"Look, I gotta go; _I'm_ supporting my friend. I'll talk to you later."

"No, wait, Gus!" Shawn was speaking to dial tone. Frustrated, he hung up and flung his phone across the room. It bounced off a couch cushion and clattered to the floor. He just glared at it, hoping that the glare would get through to Gus and everyone down at SBPD. How could they be _happy_; didn't they see that Jeremy and Juliet were wrong together?

So maybe he'd been too scared to pursue her. He'd been about to try when Jeremy had come in and ruined everything. He wondered how everyone else could be so quickly blinded to the man's shortcomings. Shawn had taken the liberty of snooping around the guy's apartment after he'd me him, and he'd found evidence of at _least_ two past relationships. He'd come to the obvious conclusion that Jeremy wasn't good enough for Juliet. _No one is good enough for her._

"Hey, Shawn, is that you?" Shawn jumped. _Dad_. He wasn't supposed to be home right now!

"Shawn!" He didn't sound too happy, either. Heavy, familiar footsteps started to pound their way downstairs.

"Now would be a good time to make a quick exit," Shawn muttered to himself. And for the second time that day, he bolted.

~*~*~*~*~*~

_Note: To be continued. Please bear with me!! _


	2. Shawn Learns the Rules of Engagement

_Note: I apologize for posting this chapter on Valentines Day. Honestly, it was hard for me to wait even this long, and I couldn't take it anymore. I promise to try to have something happy up for you today, too (and to fix the mess I made here :p). Please R&R and don't kill me! O:)_

**Juliet Gets Engaged**

_by: jewel of athos_

**Chapter 2** - _Shawn Learns The Rules of Engagement_

It was nearly two weeks before Shawn was able to bring himself to enter SBPD again, and even then he almost turned back. But when he walked in and neither Juliet nor Jeremy was in sight, he breathed a small sigh of relief and headed over to her desk.

The roses from the other day were in a pretty glass vase now, and well-wishing cards still littered her desk. Half hidden underneath them, he saw a note in Juliet's handwriting with the name of a restaurant, and a time. _Seven thirty_.

"She must be going out to dinner with Jerry..." he mused, pulling a blank card and a pale green envelope out of his pocket. He selected a pen from Juliet's desk and scrawled a quick message inside the card. _"Sorry I haven't been around. Meet me at the Psych office before you go to dinner."_ He didn't sign it; it was obvious who it was from. He stared at the message for several seconds more, debating the wisdom of his message, but finally he gave up. He slipped it into the green envelope and sealed it carefully, and placed it on top of all the others on her desk.

He turned to go and ran straight into Lassiter.

"Oh, Lassie!" He backed up a few feet, keeping a careful eye on the gun strapped to the detective's hip. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there---"

"Well, Spencer, what a surprise. I haven't seen you around since the big day."

"The big---? Oh, yes, right, the engagement day. I've, well...I've been busy. There's this case I've been working on..."

"You haven't had a case in weeks."

"I'm sorry, who is the psychic here? Is it you, Lassie? I don't think so."

"The only cases that you ever get are the ones that you steal from _me_, Spencer. And since I've been solving the greatest crimes of this decade for the past couple of months with little if _any_ help from you, I can tell you for a fact that you don't have a case."

"Hm. Well, the guy you arrested last week is innocent, if you're interested. The bank teller did it." Lassiter's eyes widened, and he coughed several times, looking around and trying to cover his cursing.

"Well, that's a very interesting _theory_, I'll have some people look into it. But actually, I didn't come over here to gloat about my successes."

"Really?" Shawn stalled, raising an eyebrow. "Because to me, that looks like _exactly_what you came over here to do." Uncharacteristically, Lassiter ignored him.

"You know, I'm surprised at you, Spencer. I have to admit, in spite of the obvious errors in you personality and behavior that would never allow a relationship between you two to work, I fully expected _you_ to be the one to propose to Detective O'Hara. I certainly didn't think that you'd let Jeremy Ross marry her before you'd at least said your piece. Which begs the question, what the heck are you doing?"

"Lassie, as usual, you're way off base and I have no idea what you're talking about. I didn't know that Jerry was going to propose to her, nor would there be any problems hindering a relationship between Jules and me."

"I will overlook the second part of that statement right now and take a moment to laugh about the first. How could you not know? Even though you've hardly showed your face here in _months_, your "psychic powers" definitely should have showed you what was going to happen. So why didn't they? Are you losing your touch?" Shawn frowned thoughtfully, tapping his chin.

"That may very well be," he said, wincing a little. But then he brightened, and patted Lassiter on the shoulder. The detective jerked away. "But that's all about to change. See you, Lassie."

"What---?" Lassie watched him go, his hands spread in confusion. "And he _ignores_ my sarcasm completely?"

~*~*~*~*~*~

Shawn was at his office nearly three hours early, waiting restlessly for Juliet to show up. He played around on his computer as much as he could with Gus's parental lock still in place, flipped through the channels without finding anything worthwhile to watch---he shut the television of when a news minute came on about "Detective O'Hara's Engagement"---and paced around periodically, screening his calls. There were at least three from Gus, all of which he ignored. He hadn't talked to Gus since the engagement day, either.

Around six thirty, he heard the door open.

"You're early," he started to say as he turned around. He started. "Dad?"

"Thanks to you, I lost half a box of Apple Jacks," he said, dropping a box down on the desk. "Shawn, what's going on?"

"I don't know what you're talking about..." His dad shook his head, taking a couple of steps closer. Shawn backed up in response, a little worried.

"You came over my house, ate half a box of Apple Jacks, and ducked out without talking to me. You haven't had a case in months; you've even been ignoring Gus for over two weeks---"

"No I haven't!" Shawn protested. _I've been _avoiding _him, _he corrected silently. His dad grabbed his cell phone and showed him the missed calls list. The last seventeen were Gus. He raised an eyebrow. "Alright, so maybe I've missed a _few_ calls..."

"You're ignoring him. Busted. Now tell me what this is all about." Shawn sighed, running his hands through his hair, avoiding his father's eyes.

"I don't know..." he shook his head, a thousand false explanations running through his head. But his dad had been a cop; and aside from that, he'd never bought any of his lies. He let his hands fall limply at his sides, sighing. "I don't know," he said again.

"Is it about this?" He shifted through the mountain of unread mail spilling in a sloppy pile all over his desk. He fished out an elegant, cream-colored envelope that had to be one of the only nice pieces of mail that Shawn had ever gotten, and ripped opened the flap. Shawn felt an uncomfortable feeling growing in his stomach as he caught the handwriting on the card Henry pulled out. He'd purposefully ignored that piece of mail when it had arrived, afraid of what was inside. He didn't have to be psychic to guess what it was and that things were moving faster than he was comfortable with.

"How did you know about it?" he asked.

"I got one in my mail, too. One for me, and another for you today."

"You got an invitation for me?"

"Well, you haven't replied to this one, have you?" Shawn cringed. He was so hoping that his father would tell him that he was wrong, that was not what had been in the envelope. But of course, he hadn't lost his touch to _that_ extent. Of course, it would be exactly what he was afraid of. "Shawn, I can understand that you want some space. A lot has gone on in the past few months; things have changed. I can even understand why you wouldn't want to talk to me or Gus about this. But _why_ haven't you made even an effort to talk to Juliet?"

Shawn felt his mouth open and close several times, a thousand lies once again shooting through his head, all of which he discarded.

"She has Jeremy now," he mumbled finally. "She doesn't need me anymore."

"Shawn, you were her best friend! You know, I think she's hurt that you haven't spoken to her all these months. She misses you."

"Then why hasn't she---?"

"Why hasn't she said anything to you? Shawn, she asks everyone about you, all the time. The only reason that she hasn't talked to you yet is because she thinks that you want space. She's scared to bother you."

"Jules is scared of me?"

"Yes!"

"She doesn't need to be..."

"Then why don't you try telling her that? You're her friend, she wants you to talk to her. She _needs_ you. This is kind of sudden, and I can imagine that she'd feel a lot better if she knew that you were going to support her through it."

"But Dad, how can I tell her to marry someone else? I," his voice caught, and it was a minute before he could talk again. "I _love_ her."

"If you love her, then do what's best for her." A car door thumped shut outside, but Shawn was too locked in his father's gaze to look away. Time seemed to freeze.

A knock on the door jarred him out of his stupor.

"Shawn? Shawn, are you in there?" He jumped. _Jules!_

"Dad, you've gotta get out of here."

"Shawn, what's going on?"

"Just---_hide!_" He pushed his father into the bathroom before he could protest and slammed the door shut. Then he leaped towards the door as Juliet knocked again. He pulled it opened and leaned against the frame, trying to look nonchalant.

This was difficult when she looked so stunningly beautiful for her date. Lacy white skirt, pale pink, form-fitting sleeveless shirt..._Gosh! She's beautiful..._

"H-hi," he stammered, all of the flowery phrases that he'd been intending to use flying out the window to hide in the gutter with eariler discarded lies. Juliet smiled nervously.

"Hi, Shawn."

"W-w-what are you doing here?" She frowned a little.

"Shawn, you invited me, remember? You asked me to come over tonight. Is this a bad time...?"

"Oh, ah, right. No! Sorry, I just got off the phone with my dad, and I was distracted, and---Sorry." He stood their awkwardly for a moment, mentally berating himself. _Say something, idiot!_

"...Can I come in?" she asked hesitantly. Shawn kicked himself.

"Yeah! Right, sure. Come in..." _Stop babbling! This is not how you planned this conversation to go_. He stood aside and let her in, closing the door behind her and then following her into the main room. He heard her take a deep breath before turning to face him, and he couldn't help but notice the warm, attractive blush covering her cheeks. She squeezed the handle of her purse with shaking hands and gave a tentative smile.

"So what's this all about?" she asked. "Why did you want me to come here?"

"I wanted to apologize for running out without congratulating you the other day," he said. "I suddenly felt really sick, and I didn't think you'd appreciate it if I threw up all over you." Her smile turned genuine and amused, and her hands relaxed a bit.

"Yeah, thanks, I appreciate that," she said. "And it's really okay, I understand. It was a bit of a shock to me, too."

"What? No, that's not why I---"

"But I want to tell you that it means_ so much_ to me that you're okay with all of this. I know that we haven't talked in a long time, and I was worried that you might be upset with me because I've been spending so much time with Jeremy..." she took a deep breath, and her sparkling eyes rolled up. "You have no idea how grateful and relieved I am that you think this is a good idea."

"That I think what is a good idea?" Shawn stuttered, feeling like the floor had just been ripped away beneath him.

"That you're okay with me marrying Jeremy. I know that in the beginning you weren't thrilled with our relationship; but the fact that you think this is the right thing to do is so important to me..." His mouth went completely dry.

"Jules---"

"I mean, I thought for a while that you were avoiding us because you really didn't approve..."

"Jules---" he tried again, but she went on.

"...but I realize now that you were just giving us space to get to know each other, to figure things out. And you must have had one of your psychic visions telling you to show up the day that he proposed, to give me the confidence to say yes..."

"JULIET!" He immediately regretted shouting as she startled back a step, the joy leaving her face. He sighed. "I'm sorry, it's just...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scream at you." He tilted his head back and covered his face with his hands. "Oh, gosh..." How could she have read him so wrong?

"Shawn?" There was a definite note of concern in her voice now, and he heard her take a step closer to him. "Shawn, what's the matter, is everything okay?" _Don't chicken out now. You wanted to talk to her so you could tell her the truth. Don't lie and put it off until it's too late._

"No!" he burst out. "Juliet, I'm sorry, this isn't how I wanted things to go..."

"Shawn, what are you talking about? Aren't---aren't you happy for me?"

"Do you want the truth, Juliet? Fine. Here's the truth. I'm _not_ happy that you're marrying Jeremy. I'm really not. I don't think that he's good enough. I don't think that _anyone---_"

"Wait, you don't think that he's _good enough_ for me? What, do you think that you're any better? Did you think that I would wait for you forever while you fooled around and made mistakes with Abigail?" He found the courage to look at her, but regretted it when he saw tears sparkling in her eyes.

"Yes, I made mistakes with Abigail; but I realize that now! I just had to tell you this before it was too late."

"Before it's too late? I've got news for you; _it is too late. _I got tired of waiting for you, Shawn. I waited for four years for you, and I'm done. And I'd think that you'd be just a little excited for me that I've finally found someone else who makes me _happy_."

"You're not the only one that he's made happy; when I was going through his apartment, I found out that he's had _at least_ two other serious relationships in the past few years---"

"You broke into his apartment? Shawn!"

"I wanted to find out---"

"You wanted to find out if he was hiding something? I've talked to him about this, Shawn. I know about Anna and Becky." She made a stressed sound in her throat. "Oh, gosh, I can't believe you!"

"Juliet..."

"I _love_ Jeremy, Shawn, okay? And you know what? I don't need your approval on any of the men in my life. She shook her head. "This was a bad idea coming to talk to you. I should have known that you couldn't accept that I'm happy with someone besides you."

"Jules..." Shawn could feel tears pressing against his eyes. _This wasn't what I wanted. _

"No! Don't call me that, Shawn Spencer! My name is _Juliet_." She pushed past him and jerked opened the door. He waited for the sound of it slamming closed, but it didn't come. He heard a heavy sigh behind him.

"I still want you to want this for me," she said softly. He turned around in time to see the anger drain from her face and be replaced by a mixture of sadness and hope and something else that he couldn't identify. "Will you at least come to the wedding for me?" Shawn shook his head, feeling like it was made of cement.

"I'm sorry Jule-Juliet. I just, I can't..." He saw her face harden.

"Fine." The door _did_ slam behind her.

Shawn heard his father open the bathroom door, and felt him come up to stand beside him, but he couldn't bring himself to move.

"Sometimes you've gotta just tell the truth," he said. "But I don't think that this was one of those times."

"Better than at the altar, though, right?" A hand rubbed his shoulder.

"Yeah. Better than at the altar." He sighed. "Look, if you want to come stay at home tonight..."

"Nah," Shawn shook his head. "It's okay. I think I'm just gonna...hang out here for a while."

"Alright." He patted Shawn's shoulder again, and left quietly. Once he was gone, Shawn collapsed into his desk chair and let his head roll back.

_If I could only die right now..._

~*~*~*~*~*~

_Note: To be continued. Chapter 3 will be up soon. Thanks for reading!! :D_


	3. Juliet's Getting Married, And Not To Me!

_Note: Chapter 3, as promised. I hope you like it!! (and are still inclined to let me live to post the last chapter ^_~)_

**Juliet Gets Engaged**

_by: jewel of athos_

**Chapter 3** - _Juliet's Getting Married, and It's Not to Me!_

It was three days before the wedding.

Shawn didn't _want_ to know this information. In fact, he'd rather that the whole, horrible mess be wiped from his mind for all eternity with the world's largest eraser. But his photographic memory was turning against him, and displayed the days ticking down as clearly as if they were constantly projected in front of him. Finally, in desperation, he called Gus.

"Gus! Hi, this is Shawn. Look, I'm sorry that I haven't called lately, but I need---"

"Shawn who?" asked a cool voice on the other line. It stopped him short.

"Gus? Come on, buddy, it's me! Shawn _Spencer_."

"I'm sorry, I don't have any _friends_ by that name."

"No, wait, Gus!" A click on the other line let him know that he'd been hung up on. He groaned, feeling more like screaming. He was going _crazy_, and even Gus wouldn't talk to him. For a second he had the urge to call Juliet for help; but he remembered the painful truth that he couldn't. They already hadn't spoken in a month because he'd told her that he didn't think the man she was marrying was good enough for her. He doubted that she would have answered his call even if his problem didn't have anything to do with the looming event of her wedding.

Unwillingly, Shawn glanced at the calendar. _Three days_. Juliet was getting married in three days, and it was to Jeremy Ross. And to think that he'd unwittingly brought the two of them back together.

Gus wouldn't help. Juliet _couldn't_ help. And he didn't think that his father would be inclined to offer him any more suggestions; the best that he'd been able to say was that he'd told the truth, now it was up to Juliet as to what to do with it.

Shawn heaved a sigh. The situation left him only one option, and he didn't like it. If it were under any other circumstances, he probably wouldn't have even considered it. But he was out of options.

_Desperate times..._

~*~*~*~*~*~

Lassiter looked up at Shawn from across his desk, one eyebrow raised severely.

"And why exactly do you expect me to do _anything_ for you?" Shawn sighed, spreading his hands.

"Because you hate Jerry as much as I do." Lassiter forced a laugh.

"I don't hate Jeremy." Shawn held up a finger.

"Ah-ah. Don't lie to the psychic, Lassie. And don't think that Jerry's apartment is the only one that I can get into. Oh, yes, I've seen the _"Stay away from my partner, Jerry!" _dartboard that you've got hanging up in there. Incidentally, you happen to be a horrible shot; you might wanna work on that."

"Is there a point to this, Spencer?" a decidedly redder Lassiter interrupted.

"Yes. You hate that Juliet is getting married; so do I. Why not work together?"

"Look, Spencer, I don't want her marrying you anymore than I want her to marry _him_. You're gonna have to do better than that." _Alright, so breaking his will isn't going to work this time. Plan B._

"_Please_ just help me sneak into the rehearsal dinner so I can prove to her how unhappy she'll be? I'll give you all the credit on your next case!" To his mild surprise, the detective stopped and considered that for a moment.

"Three cases," he said firmly. Shawn frowned.

"Two, and I'll tell you who killed the baker you found dead yesterday."

"Deal." Leaning across the desk, he reached out and shook Shawn's hand.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Shawn arrived at the rehearsal dinner site---codenamed "ground zero" at Lassiter's insistence but really a country club---at eight thirty. He raised the walkie-talkie he'd borrowed from the station to his lips.

"Come in, Lassie Dog, this is Psychic Detective. I'm in position. Copy?"

"Spencer, I don't see why you had to choose such ridiculous code names for us; and _I'm _the detective here, not you."

"Hey, you got to choose the codename for this country-club thing; I get to choose our names. And don't call me "Spencer", Lassie Dog." A long sigh squeezed its way past the usual radio static; and then Lassiter growled out his answer.

""Lassie Dog" in position at Ground Zero, "Psychic Detective". Happy?"

"Perfect," Shawn muttered, craning his neck to see onto the grounds. The whole thing was a closed event, and in order to complete his plan, he'd have to sneak in. Luckily, he had a man on the inside. "What's the situation inside?"

"Busy. We've got time, though; everything is still being set up. You should have plenty of time to sneak in."

"Aren't you gonna come out and let me in?" he asked.

"No. Turns out I can't get out without arousing suspicious. Sorry."

"What? Lassie Dog, we had a deal!"

"Believe me, I'd let you in if I could to save me having to explain this to you. But I can't get out without making Detective O'Hara suspicious. You're the psychic, shouldn't you have seen this coming?" _Rats. _In hindsight, Shawn realized that perhaps he should have prepared for this contingency; but he'd been so preoccupied with what he was actually going to do once he got inside that he hadn't given much thought to the actual getting in part. He'd left that one up to Lassiter.

He threw a desperate glance around, hoping for something that he could use. His eyes settled on what looked like a guard station by the ornate gates, and the lone figure moving around inside. Perfect.

"Very good, Lassie Dog. As a matter of fact, I did plan for just this problem, in case you couldn't hold up your end of the deal. I'll meet you out by the terrace in ten minutes. PD out." He turned off the walkie-talkie, cutting off the stream of furiously whispered questions that spewed out with the static. Then, gathering his best act together, he walked over to the little building and tapped on the window, startling the guard.

"Who are you?" he asked, opening the window just enough that his voice could be heard. "There's a private event going on here tonight, you're gonna have to come back another time."

"Yes, well, that's just it; I'm supposed to _be_ at that private event, right now; but my car broke down halfway here and I had to take a cab for part of the way; and I've had to _walk_ the last mile; but I have a feeling that they're really not gonna be too happy with my if I'm any later."

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. Can I see your invitation?" Shawn swallowed.

"Invitation? Oh, yes, right, the invitation." He patted around his pockets frantically, searching his mind for some way out of this one. "I don't suppose you'd believe that I lost it?"

"Sorry. No invite, no entry." He started to close the window.

"Wait!" Shawn's fingers closed around a piece of card stock in his pocket, and he pulled it out and handed it over, hoping that the guard didn't look too close.

"Hm..." he took the card and held it under the light, examining it. Then he reached over to a panel on the wall and pushed a button. The gates started to open. Shawn blinked in surprise.

"Sorry, man," the guy said, handing the card back. "Just doing my job."

"Hey, no problem," Shawn said distractedly. "Thanks for letting me in late. I'll remember it if I ever need a good security guy."

"Hey, thanks! Hope to see you around again soon."

"Yeah, you too." Shawn hurried through the gate as fast as he could, unable to relax until he was out of sight of the gate and close enough that the lights on the huge, beautiful club building were bright enough for him to see by. He held up the card and angled it so that he could see.

_"To Shawn Spencer, from Juliet O'Hara and Jeremy Ross_

_We would both like to cordially invite you to join us and be part of our wedding_

_on_

_August 18, 2010 _

_at 2 pm._

_We also would like you to attend our rehearsal dinner the night before, _

_at 7 o'clock._

_We hope to see you there."_

Shawn realized that he had never actually looked at the invitation before. Reading it now, he could almost hear Juliet's voice as she read the words out loud. He shivered.

The sound of voices from around the corner of the big building brought his mind back to the task at hand. Shoving the invitation back into his pocket, he ducked into the shadows of the huge garden that spread around the club and skulking towards the sound.

He rounded the corner to find a wide terrace lit with dozens of hanging lanterns that swayed softly with the breeze. About forty or so people were streaming out of the building onto the pretty area, laughing and talking. Shawn crept closer, shocked to see his father and Gus among the guests.

"Those traitors!" he gasped, his mouth dropping opened. How dare they be here, supporting _Jerry_, of all people?

He was just about to run out and call them out on it when Juliet appeared.

Instantly all other thoughts fled his mind. Hardly talking to her for six months had been bad; but not speaking to her or seeing her _at all_ had been a whole different kind of torture. But until that moment, he hadn't truly realized how much.

"Jules..." he breathed.

He watched as all of the guests took their places either with the wedding party and the audience. Music started, and in pairs, men and woman walked down the makeshift aisle towards Jerry and the pastor, who were standing under an arbor at the "end" of the aisle. He watched painfully as Juliet took her father's hand, and he guided her down after them.

As he watched her face, he forgot all of his plans and ideas. She was happy. She was _really_ happy with Jeremy.

_I can't do this._

It wasn't as if he had ever had a chance with her in the first place; and he certainly didn't have any hope of changing her mind. And there was a whole mess of people down there who were going to kill him if he screwed this up for her.

Hardly able to believe what he was doing, Shawn forced himself to move, and left. He didn't want to watch them kiss.

~*~*~*~*~*~

_Note: The forth and final chapter should be up soon!! :D_


	4. Shawn Tells the Whole Truth, Almost

_Note: Alright, this is it!! I hope that I don't disappoint with my ending :p. Thanks so much for reading!!! :D_

**Juliet Gets Engaged**

_by: jewel of athos_

**Chapter 4** – _Shawn Tells the Whole Truth_

_Bang bang bang!_

Shawn groaned and rolled over, covering his head with his pillow. "Go away!" he moaned. He was _not_ going to wake up today. This was the day that Juliet was getting married, and he didn't want to remember any of it.

_Bang bang bang!_

"Go away!" He threw his pillow in the general direction of the door, absently wondering why it was so light in his room and realizing that he had come back to his office and crashed.

_Click._

That quiet click shocked him awake.

"Don't shoot!" he pleaded, sitting straight up and throwing his hands up, his eyes squeezed closed in preparation for pain.

"Shoot you?" His eyes snapped opened, and he saw Gus standing there, looking confused. "Shawn, I may be angry with you, but you know that I could never shoot you."

"Then what was that click?" Gus raised an eyebrow.

"You mean me closing the door?" Shawn made a face as he considered that.

"Yeah, probably." Letting his hands drop, he squinted and rubbed at his eyes, trying to clear his vision and his brain. "What are you doing over here so early, anyways?" he asked. "Don't you have a wedding to go to?"

"Shawn, it's twelve thirty in the afternoon. But I didn't come to talk to you about the time."

"Then why are you here? I thought that we weren't friends anymore."

"Yeah, sorry about that." At least Gus had the decency to look embarrassed. "I was mad. I still am; and I expect an apology for ignoring me for the past month in a half." Shawn sighed.

"Gus, I am sorry. I wasn't trying to ignore you. But…well, I've kind of needed my space from people lately."

"Yeah, so I've noticed. Apology accepted."

"Good. Now will you---" he paused to cover a yawn. "Will you please tell me why you came over here?"

"Well, originally, I was gonna come and yell at you for trying to crash the rehearsal last night."

"You knew?"

"Lassiter told me about your grand scheme, and how you were going to give him all the credit for the next five cases you solve for him." Shawn made a face.

"Five? The deal was two…"

"Yeah, I figured he was exaggerating," Gus admitted. Shawn grimaced again, shaking his head.

"Wait, you said that you _were_ going to come over here and yell at me. What are you going to do instead now?"

"Don't worry, I'm still going to yell. But not about what you were planning last night." Suddenly, he reached over and smacked Shawn in the arm. "What the heck are you thinking, letting Juliet get married to that Jeremy?"

"Since when do you not approve of Jerry?" Shawn asked, putting intentional stress on his nickname for the man.

"Since he's not you! Shawn, you know that you love Juliet. What ever made you okay with them dating in the first place?"

"I was never okay with it; but there was nothing that I could do, he got there first!"

"We both know that's not true, Shawn. You've had four and a half years to make your move with her, and you haven't. What were you waiting for?"

"Gus, what does it matter? She's getting married today." He dropped into a chair. "And it's not to me."

"You're right it's not," Gus said, disappointment in his voice. "But it could have been you, if you'd done something sooner." He shook his head, and for a minute silence reigned, crushing down on Shawn until he couldn't take it anymore.

"What should I do, Gus?" he asked. Gus raised an eyebrow.

"Juliet is still your friend, Shawn. You should go to her wedding." He sighed. "Look, I've gotta go. But think about this, Shawn. Don't add another mistake to the list. I'll see you around."

Once Gus left, the silence became even more oppressive. Shawn covered his face with his hands and groaned, not even trying to untangle the thoughts that were swirling around in his head.

He heard a creak, but he didn't move this time, figuring that the building was just settling. But then he heard Gus's voice again.

"You know, I don't know how long you were spying on the rehearsal last night, but Juliet didn't kiss him. She said that she wanted to save the real kiss for today, for their wedding. But she's not happy, Shawn." The door clicked closed again, and this time, Gus didn't come back, and Shawn was left alone with his thoughts.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Over the course of his thinking, Shawn realized that he must have fallen back asleep. He was awakened by the phone ringing. Too lazy to answer it, he heaved himself up off the chair and started scrounging around for something to eat while it went to voicemail.

"_Hey, "Psychic Detective", this is Lassiter. Listen, I agreed to help you help Juliet, and so far all you've done is sneak around. So I'm telling you that you'd better get your butt over here to this club right now and at least be at her wedding if you're not going to stop it. If you aren't here by the time that they walk down the aisle at four o'clock, I wouldn't come around SPBD again without a gun and a bodyguard, you got it? Lassiter out."_

Shawn had gotten used to not taking any of Lassiter's threats seriously; and besides, he didn't plan on going back to the police department any time soon, anyways. Not with Jeremy sure to always be hanging around.

Still, out of prompting, he glanced at the clock, wondering if he could slip in, show Lassiter that he was there, and slip out again before the wedding started.

"Three thirty?" And Lassie had said that there was only half an hour until the wedding march. He'd have to move fast. But the club was on the other side of the city; it would be pushing it to get there in time. Still, he had to maybe he'd be able to see Juliet before he left, too.

_I'm coming, Jules…_

~*~*~*~*~*~

Shawn parked his bike carelessly in front of the country club building---he'd been given no trouble at the gate today. He knew that he would probably pay for leaving the vehicle there later, but he could have cared less as he stumbled up the steps. He could hear the music starting as he rushed through the building in the general direction of the terrace that they had practiced on the night before.

It was far more decorated than it had been last night. He gaped for a moment at all of the flowers and potted plants that covered the area, and at the sheer number of guests waiting patiently in their seats.

The last of the bridesmaids was already halfway down the aisle when he got there, but he didn't see Jeremy or Juliet yet. He'd come out a side door instead of the main one that the wedding party was coming from, and he slipped outside and hid behind a grouping of potted shrubs and trees before anyone saw him, watching the proceedings from that vantage point.

The girl and her partner seemed to take an agonizingly long time to get to the end of the aisle, and Shawn found himself sweating with anticipation. This was the last time that he would ever get to see Juliet before…well, he didn't know what would happen after this; but he got the feeling that this _would_ be the last time that he ever saw her if something drastic didn't happen.

Finally, the last girl had reached her place, and from behind another wall of plants by the beautiful carved-wood altar set up, Jeremy came out to stand in his place as well. The music changed, and all eyes turned down the center aisle, where Juliet would come out.

After a pause that seemed far too long, the bride and her father finally appeared. Shawn blinked and gasped, steadying himself against the large pot that he was hidden behind. Every time he had seen her since the engagement, he had realized just how much more beautiful Juliet was than he had though. But all of those times were nothing compared to the angel that was walking hand in hand with her father now.

But as he studied her face above the snow-white, sleeveless dress, he realized that Gus had been right. It was her wedding day, she was beautiful, and the man that she loved was waiting for her at the altar; but the smile on her face was shaky and forced, and she glided peacefully, but not joyfully. Was it actually because she was missing _him_?

She reached the altar, and her father sat down, and the priest began the ceremony. Shawn paid very little attention to it, still trying to figure out what was going on. But then, one phrase caught his ears.

"If there is anyone here who has good reason why these two should not be married, speak now, or forever hold your peace." Shawn knew that the words were customary, and no one expected for there to be reasons anymore; but against his will, he found himself rising from his hiding place and standing in the middle of the aisle.

A chorus of gasps rose around him, but he didn't care; there was only one person in this room that he cared about.

"I do," he said softly, his voice sounding suddenly very small. He heard someone say his name softly.

"Son, you do know that that was a rhetorical question?" the priest asked him. "Please sit down and let us get on with the ceremony."

"Spell rhetorical," Shawn challenged. And while the surprised priest was trying to figure out what to make of that, he turned to the audience.

"You can finish the ceremony in a minute," he told them, "since I guess that my reasons aren't very good ones, after all. But I'm going to say them anyways, because I can't let these two get married without telling the truth." He met Juliet's eyes. "Jules, I love you. I have for a long time. I know that I never said anything, and that I have made _many_ mistakes, but it's still true. And while I know that I don't have a chance with you now and I can't stop the two of you from getting married, I can tell you the truth. And the truth is that I want you to be happy. Now, if you're going to be happy with Jerry here, then cheers to both of you, and I'll shut up and leave, and you'll never have to worry about me again. But if you're _not_…don't make the mistake of marrying him just to spite me." He paused and looked around, but no one made a sound. Every eye in the room was riveted on him. He let out a surprised breath.

"Whoa, that was weird. Well…I guess that's it. I'm done now. Go ahead, finish the wedding. I'll just go and place myself under citizen's arrest for disturbing the peace…"

"Wait!" Shawn paused his turn towards the door, and looked back. Juliet was staring at him with wide eyes, and Jeremy was giving him a look more thoughtful and earnest than Shawn necessarily liked. He squirmed uncomfortably under the intense gaze.

"Do you really think that marrying me would make Juliet so unhappy?" he asked. Shawn shrugged.

"Don't get me wrong, Jerry, you're a nice guy. But…you're not good enough for her."

"And you think that you're better?"

"Honestly, no. Even I, with all my psychic powers and impressive crime-solving records cannot dream of being good enough for Jules. If I ever find a guy who _is_ good enough, I'll introduce you two for some pointers. Can I go now?"

"No." Shawn looked at Juliet. She was still pale and wide-eyed, but she was firm. She turned to Jerry. "Jeremy, I'm sorry. I love you, but…" To Shawn's surprise, Jerry nodded and kissed her forehead.

"Don't be," he whispered. "I understand. But invite me to the wedding when you're ready, huh?" Juliet smiled gratefully and nodded.

"Thank you," she whispered. Then she turned to their guests. "Everyone, I'm sorry about all this; I'm sorry that we asked you all to come out here for a wedding that we can't finish. I promise that I will try to make it up to all of you, but right now…right now I need to go. Thank you all so much for understanding." She and Jerry both walked back down the aisle the way that she had come, and everyone was either too polite or too stunned to stop them.

Juliet paused when she reached Shawn, who was still standing awkwardly in the middle of the aisle. Jerry, with merely a raised eyebrow and an encouraging smile, continued on and went back into the club.

"Thank you," she whispered simply, wrapping him in her arms. A little shocked that she would do that, let alone in front of all of these people, he patted her back gingerly. But that didn't feel enough, and with only a moment's hesitation, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her golden hair.

"I love you," he whispered back.

~*~*~*~*~*~

…Fin.

_Note: Thank you so much for putting up with my mini-cliffies to get to the end of this. I hope you liked it!! :D (if you did, please review and let me know, huh? O:) I want your opinions)_


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